CHRISTMAS-CRAZY Ryan Hadley is literally going the extra mile for children in his neighbourhood, by dropping off selection boxes for them on foot - a task which is set to take him five days.

Mr Hadley, 26, from Abertillery, is already the talk of the town because of the amazing Christmas lights decorating his home.

He decided to ask visitors for a donation and to organise treats for children because one of his fondest memories is the Santa sleigh which went round the town when he was a child.

Mr Hadley, who’s married with two children aged six and eight, set up a Facebook page and asked the community to vote for which charity should benefit from his fundraising. Against some very worthy causes, the page’s followers chose Make-A-Wish UK.

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He said the most difficult thing has been turning people away who live further afield, but as it is, he’s had to allocate dates and times to families to ensure he gets round.

It will all be good fitness training for Mr Hadley who was working before the pandemic struck but is now hoping to join the Fire Service once they’re back to recruiting.

He said: “Me and my neighbours have always put up a light display for Christmas. This year we thought that with everything going on we needed an uplift with some Christmas spirit, so I put up loads of lights. It took me about a month to do it what with all the bad weather.

“When I was a kid, we used to have Santa come round on a sleigh and we would be given selection boxes from him, so thought I’d recreate it. I’m asking people to pay a small amount per child and then any extra, after expenses are paid, will go to Make-A-Wish which does such great things for seriously ill children.

“It’s got really popular – I've got 94 streets signed up now – that's just under 500 children. Some parents have added an extra wrapped and labelled present to the delivery too.”

Make-A-Wish contacted local supermarkets about Mr Hadley’s plan and the local Tesco is contributing 200 chocolate selection boxes for free as well as wrapping paper and tape.

A spokesperson for the charity said: “It’s so generous of Ryan to fundraise for us and to bring the magic of Christmas to the young people in his town too. His actions align perfectly with our charity’s ethos – in fact we are granting eight wishes this month to children who have wished for a magical Christmas experience. Ryan’s support will help wishes like those come true.”